Automatic paper feed



Dec. 20; I927. 1,653,305

W. E- MYERS ET AL AUTOMATIC PAPER FEED Filed July 24. 1926 2 Sheets-She a 1 FIG. 1.

[NI/ENTERS tion of delivery of a quantity of.

Patented "Dec. 20, 1927.

UNITED STATES WAYNE n; MYERS Am) CLAYTON E. YouNe,-or neuron nan-non, MICHIGAN. 1

AUTOMATIC PArnR FEED.

Application filed July 24,

Our invention relates to devices for automatically feeding sheets ofpaper to amachine designed to perform some operation upon said sheets. Moreparticularly it relates to automatic feeding devices adapted to serve machines that may be fed more than onesheet at a, time, as for instance a perforating machine or a binding machine.

The object of our invention is to provide an automatic feed that will divide and sepa-. rate off a quantity of sheets equal to the capacity of the machine that it adapted to feed and deliver said sheets accurately to said machine.

Further objects of our invention lie in its simplicity of operation and economy of con struction.

-We attain these objects by mechanism shown in the accompanying drawings, in which J I 'Fig. 1, is a side elevation of ourautomatic paper feed and a portion of a perforating machine, showing the feeder, driven from the perforating machine, nearing the posisheets to said perforating machine. I

Fig. 2, is a plan view of. our feeder showing the divider and :carriage as the paper is being divided and separated.

Fig. 3, isa side elevation of the structure and mechanism appearing inFig. 2. 1

.The parts will be identified by numerals of reference which refer to: the same parts in all of the views. T i

1 is the frame of the perforating machine. 2 is a sprocket carried-oil a shaft, not indicated, which is a part of said perforating machine. 3 is the drop feed roll. 4 is the stationary feed roll. 5' is the gate of a perforating machine as usually constructed.

6, 6 are the members forming the side frames of our feeder. 7 7 are the spacers holding the side frames in proper spaced relation, the whole constituting. a rigid frame. 8,8, 8, 8 are legs of any suitable construction, connected to said frame.

9 is the paper elevator platform. 10,10 are the supporting bars underneath the said platform. 11, 11, 1-1, 11 are the elevator chains. 12, 12 arethe elevator shafts which are journaled in suitable bearings 13, 13'a t' each side of'the machine. 1 14, 14, 14, 14 are I the sprockets on said shaftsoverfiwhich theelevator chains are wrapped. I

15, 15 are Worm gears, one on each of the shafts 12. These gears are actuated by legs.

1926. Serial No. 124,770.

a v p ,653,305 PATENT. OFFICE."

worms 16, '16 which are secured to a cross shaft, not indicated. Attached/to said cross shaft is a ratchet wheel 17 Co-a'cting with saidratchet wheel is a. pawl 18, pivotally connected to a lever 19,, which is journaled on the cross shaft and held in proper spaced relation to the ratchet wheel by a collar, notindicated. Lover 19 is connected to lever 20 bya rod 22. A

. Levers 20, 2O, oneon each side of the ma- I chine,'oscillate on pivots 21,21 which are mounted in suitable brackets attached to the supportinglegs 8. A crossshaft 23, to which is secured a sprocket 24, is journaled in bearings A chain passing over sprockets 2 and 24 furnishes the means whereby thefeeder is driven bythe perforatiugmachine.

Secured toeach end of shaft 23 are crank arms 26, 26. 6 These armscarry pins 27, 2 7

which-act in slots 20, 20 on the levers 20 20, imparting. an oscillating inotionfto said levers. Bearings might be provided, for the pins 27, 27 and otherwise arranged to slide inj the slots20, 20-

v The reciprocating rods 28,28 arepivotally connected to the upper ends of levers 20, 20

and supported in suitablebcarings 29, 29.

'llhesebe'arings are pivotally connected to the side frames. 6, 6 topermit oscillation.

Bearings 30, are secured to rods 28, 28 and support the shaft 30. Bearings 30, 30 alsosupport the feedjcarriage 31 which is in the form of a plate, tapered and bent downwardat the front cdgeto form a plow.

The 'dividin Joint 32 has aknife ed e 1 and is attached to the carriage plate A 31 in such a manner that the P011113 .15 sl ghtlyfin advancelof the pointo f theplow. g

33,33, 33, are clamping fingers secured to the shaft 30'; A spring and toggle mechanism, not shown, causes the fingers 33 to be .held under spring tension against the face of the plate 31 or away, from it depending H upon the position of the trip arm 34. The

also attached to the supporting trip rod 35 is pivotally connectedtotrip arm A 34 and supported inbearing 36. Bearing 36 is pivotally mounted to permit oscillation. 37, 37: are collars adjustably mounted on the rod 35.

v 38 is the forward jogger which is carried on shaft 30 but notsecured thereto. The arms 139,39are apart of the forward jogger support or otherwise attached thereto. 40 is the rear ,jogger and is secured to the frame causes rotation of the cross shaft to which is secured the sprocket 2. The chain 25 trans fers the motion to sprocket 2-Clcausing rotation of shaft 23 and crank arms 26. This causes oscillation of arms 20 as previously described. Oscillation of arms 20 moves rods :28, the carriage 31, the shaft 30 and the co-operating mechanism attached thereto with a forward and backward motion. A Motion is transferred to the lever 19 by red 22, causing the pawl to feed the ratchet wheel. Thru the worm gearing, the sprocket 14c and the chain 11, the elevator platform is caused to rise a predetermined amount with each stroke of the feeder. 1

As the carriage advances toward the stack of paper, the dividing point 32 strikes the paper at the desired distance below the top of the stack, divides and separates a quantity of sheets which are lifted by the plow to the top of the plate 31. As the carriage advances the forward jogger 38 drops into place and when the carriage reaches the end of its forward stroke the jogger straightens the forward edges of the sheets that have been separated from the stack. At this point the back collar 37, having previously collided with the bearing 36, causes the triparm 34:

to operate the spring toggle mechanism which results in bringing the clamping,

fingers 33 into forciblecontaetwith the rated sheets. As the carriage moves back, theseparated sheets are dragged from the stack and the forward edges brought to the gate 5 and between the feed rolls 3 and 4E of the perforating machine. During this backward movement of the carriage, the elevator again raises the stack of paper and the forward jogger is raised by the arms 39 colliding with "the spacer 7.

, At the end of the back stroke, the forward collar 37, having previously collided with the bearing 36, causes the trip arm 34 to again operate the spring toggle mechanism, resulting in the release of the pressure of the clamping fingers 33.

The drop 'feed roll 3 of the perforating sepamachine now moves down into contact with the paper and the gate 5 rises, whereupon the separated sheets are fed into the machine.

lVhile we have described a particular form,

of our invention, we anticipate modifications of the mechanical construction.

scope of ourinvention, which we conceive to be a mechanism to divide and separate a quantity'of sheets from the top' of a stack, raising said quantity of sheets to a carriage We consider such modifications to be within the and subsequently moving delivery.

lVhat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A paper feeding mechanism comprising the combination with means for supporting a stack of sheets, a reciprocating carriage supported in alignn'ient with said stack, a suitable instrument supported on said carriage fordividing and separating a quantity of sheets from the top of said stack on the forward movement of said carriage, means for adjusting the quantity of sheets separated on said movement, means for maintaining said adjustmentv as succeeding quantities of sheets are removed, means for raising said separated sheets onto said carriage and means for delivering said sheets from said carriage.

2. A paper feeding mechanism comprising the combination with means for supporting a stack of sheets, a reciprocating carriage supported in alignment with said stack, a suitable instrument supported on said carriage for dividing and separating a quantity of sheets from the top of said stackv on the forward movement of said carriage, means for adjusting the relation of said dividing instrument to the top of said stack, means for maintaining said relation as succeeding quantities of sheets are removed, means for raising saidseparated sheets onto said carriage and means for delivering said sheets from said carriage.

3. A paper feeding mechanism comprising the combination with means for supporting a. stack of sheets, a reciprocating carriage supthem to a point of ported in alignment with saidstack, a suitable instrument supported on said carriage for dividing and separating a quantity of sheets'from the top of said stack on the forward movement ofsaidcarriage, means for adjusting the distance below the top of said stack that said dividing instrument will contact, means for maintaining said distance as succeeding quantities of sheets are removed, means for raising said separated sheets onto said carriage, means for retaining said sheets on said carriage during its backward movement, and means for delivering said separated sheets from said carriage.

4. A paper feeding mechanism comprising the combination with. means for supporting a stack of sheets, a reciprocating carriage supported in alignment with said stack, a suitableinstrumentsupported on said carriage for dividing and separating a quantity of sheetsfrom the top of said stack on the formeans for raising said separated sheets onto said carriage, clamping fingers actuated by the movement of said carriage for retaining said sheets on said carriage during, its backward movement, and means for delivering said separated sheets from said carriage.

5. A. paper feeding mechanism comprising the combination with means for supporting a stack of sheets, a reciprocating carriage supported in alignment with said. stack, a suit-' able instrument supported on said carriage for dividing and separating a quantity of sheets from the top of said stack on the forward movement of said carriage, means for adjusting the distance between the top of said stack and the point that said dividing sheets on said carriage during its backward movement, and means for delivering said separated sheets from said carriage,

6. A aper feeding mechanism comprising the com ination with means for supporting a stack of sheets, a reciprocating carriage supported in alignment with said stack, means for elevating said stack a predetermined amount with the return stroke of said carriage, a suitable instrument supported on said carriage for dividing and separating a .quantity' of sheets from said stack on the forward movement of said carriage, means for' raising said separated sheets 'ontosaid carri age, means for retaining said sheets on said carriage during its backward movement,

and means for delivering said separated sheets from said carriage.

Inwitness whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

WAYNE E. MYERS. CLAYTON E. YOUNG. 

